The Emporia State men’s basketball team held the lead for the majority of the game, but Wayne State College scored with less than five seconds to go and a last-second Hornet three was off the mark in a 67-66 loss to the Wildcats at the MWSU Fieldhouse in game one of the Hillyard Tip-off Classic in St. Joseph, Mo. on Friday. ESU took the lead early but never stretched it further than seven points in the game. ESU led by that margin taking a 36-29 at halftime. Wayne State fought back with an 11-3 run to take their first lead of the game early in the second half. ESU responded and matched their biggest lead of seven with just over nine minutes to play, but couldn’t extend it as the Wildcats answered with a 12-4 run to retake the lead with under five minutes to go. Head coach Tom Billeter said he gave credit to WSC.
Brayson Laube led ESU with 13 points in his Hornet debut while Don Coats III had 10 game-high rebounds. E-State (0-1) returns to action Sunday for their second game of the classic against Northern State. Tip-off is set for 12:00 p.m. with pregame coverage at 11:30 a.m. on the Hornet Sports Network.
